TRS bandh against Polavaram passes off peacefully

The bandh called by Telangana Rashtra Samithi to protest against Centre's ordinance transferring some villages and Mandals of Khammam district to the residuary Andhra Pradesh to facilitate Polavaram project passed off peacefully in Telangana and Hyderabad on Thursday.

The bandh was total, especially in the districts, and affected the normal life to some extent but no untoward incident was reported, officials said.

Buses remained off the roads while commercial establishments remained closed till afternoon.

"The bandh was peaceful," additional director general of police (law and order) VSK Kaumudi said.

Workers of TRS and some other organisations staged demonstrations in front of the bus-depots in Telangana districts and also in Hyderabad.

The TRS activists also took out bike rallies, shouting slogans against the Centre's move to add villages of seven mandals in Khammam district of Telangana to East Godavari district of (residual) Andhra Pradesh, to facilitate construction of the Polavaram project.

TRS is opposed to the Polavaram project in its current form; it alleges that the the multi-purpose project would submerge 205 villages in Khammam district, most of them tribal hamlets, and lead to large-scale displacement of people.

The Centre on Thursday issued an ordinance declaring merger of some villages and mandals of Telangana with Seemandhra (Andhra Pradesh), so as to facilitate resettlement and rehabilitation of Polavaram project affected persons.

TRS chief and chief minister-designate K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday gave call for the bandh against "injustice" to Telangana over the issue.